Inside Panghu Cave.
After considering the possibility of a vent under the ice coffin, Lu Chaoyang did not rush into the next step.
He put away the map and walked to the edge of the groove, glancing at the ice coffin.
Previously mentioned.
The ice coffin is 2.89 meters long, 1.6 meters wide, and 85 centimeters deep.
If a five-meter-long fox truly existed, its tail would occupy at least 40% of that length.
Furthermore, a fox—or rather, most animals' tails—can be positioned to lie close to their body.
The remaining part of the body and head, if slightly curled, could easily fit within this ice coffin.
This implies a possibility:
Long, long ago—though the exact time remains to be determined by examining the footprints—at some point, a giant fox walked out of the ice coffin.
And judging by its size, it would undoubtedly be a mythical beast.
Then, after endless years passed.
Its descendants manifested in some unknown human form thousands, if not tens of thousands, of years ago, leaving behind the legend of the Nine-tailed Fox of Qingqiu.
Of course.
The legend of Qingqiu might have been left by that giant fox itself, but if so, certain time-related events must have occurred:
For instance, it might not have left the ice coffin immediately after its formation but awoken only a few thousand years ago.
Or perhaps the ice coffin had the property of "freezing age," allowing it to return and slumber after roaming the outside world, reawakening nearly ten thousand years ago.
Or, perhaps, it wandered into some place where time flows differently, emerging after an eternity had passed.
In any case, if it were the fox, there's no possible way it survived for 360,000 years.
Otherwise, it shouldn't be called a fox, but rather a "turtle fox."
Unfortunately.
Lu Chaoyang and his team searched the area carefully, but they did not find a single strand of fox hair.
Therefore, this hypothesis remains only theoretical, with no substantial proof.
Lu Chaoyang then turned to Ouyang Dongshan and asked:
"Professor Ouyang, is it possible to date these footprints?"
Ouyang Dongshan smiled lightly, his expression relaxed, suggesting it wasn't particularly difficult:
"Of course, dating the sediments beneath footprints is already a very advanced technique.
However, the specific calculations require very complex equipment and procedures, at least not something we can complete onsite—the cleanliness of the environment alone is an issue."
Lu Chaoyang nodded slightly to indicate his understanding.
Though he wasn't too familiar with the practical aspects of footprint dating, he had a good grasp of the concept of cleanliness.
After all, any laboratory, regardless of type or project, has to be concerned with cleanliness.
Simply put.
Laboratory cleanliness refers to the number of particles in the air, ranging from class 10, class 100, to class 100,000.
The class represents the number of particles in the lab; for example, class 10 has just ten particles, while class 100,000 has 100,000 particles.
Thus, the lower the number, the higher the cleanliness of the lab.
Generally, the higher the specifications and equipment conditions are as well.
Footprint dating, due to the need for sediment analysis, requires at least a class 100 environment.
And this is certainly not achievable in the cave; it must be done back in Modu or the Damo Realm.
Therefore, Lu Chaoyang looked thoughtfully at the footprints and said to Su Bai and others:
"In that case, Major Su, please arrange for someone to make several copies of the footprints.
Professor Cui, Researcher Ouyang.
The two of you will be responsible for sampling, to be sent back to the base for research."
Su Bai and the others exchanged glances and replied in unison:
"Understood!"
Half an hour later.
The footprint copying and sampling processes were completed one after another.
Then Lu Chaoyang was silent for a few seconds, looking around in a circle, and said:
"Everything that needed to be sampled has been sampled, and all necessary recordings have been made.
So everyone, prepare to lift the coffin!"
Previously mentioned.
The ice coffin's data can be measured directly by a laser rangefinder, indicating that no helium-iron microcrystal array exists outside the ice coffin.
Therefore, theoretically.
The ice coffin should be liftable from the groove by external forces, with the only question being how much force is needed.
The ice coffin in the Damo Realm weighed 400 kilograms, but in the cave, no one can be sure it is the same specification.
Perhaps the ice coffin is very light, and Cao Yi could carry it alone.
Or perhaps it contains unknown secrets—like the flesh of a mythical beast, weighing far more than local objects of the same appearance.
Therefore, the core team had made relatively adequate preparations before coming here.
No matter which situation occurs, as long as the ice coffin does not weigh more than 20 tons, Lu Chaoyang and others can pull it out relatively easily—not that weight over 30 tons can't be managed, but beyond 30 tons requires some heavy equipment.
Panghu Cave's height is limited, making it cumbersome to bring large equipment into the cave.
The command post certainly prepared for this eventuality, but if its use could be avoided, that would be ideal.
Like solving a problem with a five-yuan tricycle, much easier than calling a moving company.
Sight returns to the cave.
Once deciding to officially raise the coffin, Lu Chaoyang immediately reported the situation onsite back to the base camp.
Soon, a response came from the base camp:
Approval for the lifting plan, but the procedure must be cautious!
After receiving instructions from the superior department, everyone immediately carried out Plan A—the most time-saving and efficient plan.
Su Bai and others first dragged in several small, multi-stage compressed cryogenic pulling units from outside the cave—just by the name, they're special equipment for polar use.
Not to mention just a bit over minus 100 degrees; their design limit is -168°.
Then they leveled and tested the equipment, pulling in power from outside the cave entrance.
After confirming that the equipment and the control panel were operating normally, a guiding obstacle-breaking robot was deployed into the pit.
The technician responsible for the hoisting was named Pan Guansheng, 30 years old, from an information squadron of Dongzhan.
Perhaps due to the good food in the army.
The programmer's hair wasn't lush, but neither was he balding too much.
After guiding the robot into the pit, he immediately began operations. The robot, similar to a cleaning robot, moved around the gap between the ice coffin and the groove like a real cleaning robot.
Five minutes later.
The detection device in Pan Guansheng's hand vibrated.
He looked down at the screen and reported:
"Report, no harmful gases or radiation sources were detected at the pit bottom; all chemical values are normal!"
Lu Chaoyang nodded, calmly saying:
"Very well, Comrade Guansheng, proceed with the next step!"
Pan Guansheng's expression instantly became serious:
"Understood!"
He then returned to the control panel and started typing on the keyboard.
Soon.
The guiding robot began moving again at the bottom of the pit.
Unlike the previous chemical substance detection, this time the robot didn't wander around.
Upon receiving instructions.
Its head suddenly opened a small port, and concurrently, a set of transmission equipment outside the cave also booted up.
After a moment.
A sharp drill bit suddenly extended from the small port, drilling into the ground with a buzzing sound.
The drill was powerful, but strangely it only drilled a few times before stopping completely.
Were it not for the connected equipment's indicator still showing green, anyone could easily think the device lost power due to special circumstances.
A minute later.
Bzz bzz bzz—
The blue light on the printer in front of Pan Guansheng suddenly lit up, and a report slowly emerged from it.
Pan Guansheng immediately picked it up for a look, his expression relaxing:
"Professor Lu, the Mohs hardness of the hardest stone in the groove is about 2.5; our probe can easily break it."
Upon hearing this, Lu Chaoyang's eyes lit up:
"2.5? That's really great!"
.........
